NASHUA, N.H. — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain praised a new apartment building for homeless veterans as a welcome contrast to the shoddy conditions recently revealed at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington.

"This comes at a very important time. This Walter Reed scandal is one which has saddened all of us - saddened, frustrated and angered all of us, because those of us in positions of authority should never have let it happen," he said Monday.

"What we're seeing today is the other of side of that. What we're seeing today is what Americans who are dedicated and want to help can do for the men and women who have served our country," he said.

McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who endured years of torture as a prisoner of war, spoke at the dedication of Buckingham Place, a 20-unit apartment building that will open next month. Though the city already has a similar facility for single, male veterans, the new building is believed to be one of the first transitional housing facilities in the country for both male and female veterans and their families.

Residents will be allowed to stay for up to two years while they receive job training and any needed mental health and substance abuse services. More than 200 veterans already have applied for spots, said Peter Kelleher, president of Harbor Homes, which developed the project.

Most of them served in Vietnam, he told McCain during a tour of the apartments, though one veteran of the Iraq war has applied.

Just days before the dedication ceremony, Buckingham Place and a shelter for homeless veterans in Manchester, N.H., learned they would not be getting $400,000 federal grants they had expected.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.